Derek smiled as he looked around the table. His mother had decided that they needed a rehearsal dinner, so she had made a delicious lasagna dinner for him, Meredith, Chrissy, Cristina, Alex, Izzie, George and herself. Izzie had baked the raspberry cheesecake that was served for dessert. This quiet, home-cooked dinner party for eight at Meredith's home was a far cry from the large, raucous rehearsal dinner that the Captain and Bizzy had sponsored for his wedding to Addison. His mother had offered to make a small dinner party at their home, but Bizzy had declared such a party unacceptable. She had understood that the Shepherd family couldn't afford a big party, particularly at a fashionable restaurant, so she and the Captain had volunteered to pay the lion's share of the event, with Carolyn contributing what she could afford.
Addison had her heart set on Windows on the World for the rehearsal dinner even if it meant everyone trekking from the wedding hotel, the Plaza, to the financial district, and then back after dinner. It had been one of their favorite places; Derek had taken her to the bar there for their first date, and he had proposed to her there. All these years later, Derek could not help feeling sad when he thought about the wonderful restaurant and the fabulous meal; he knew that some of the waiters, cooks, and other staff must have been among the many who died there on 9/11 when the towers came down. Nonetheless, he hoped that the new Freedom Tower would have a restaurant. He'd love to take Meredith and Chrissy there someday.
In contrast to Addison, Meredith hadn't expected a rehearsal dinner, but his mom had insisted. Carolyn Shepherd loved weddings and wedding traditions. She had enjoyed being mother-of-the-bride three times so far, and in each case she had overseen the wedding preparations. Bizzy had of course taken responsibility for his first wedding, but Meredith's mother was dead and her stepmother was not even invited to the wedding. Carolyn had decided to treat Meredith as one of her own daughters and insist on wedding traditions, much to the delight of Izzie Stevens, who was also a fan of wedding traditions.
Derek enjoyed the small gathering of close friends and family. The food tonight equaled the food at Windows on the World; his mom and Izzie were amazing cooks. Meredith was just finishing her last bite of cheesecake. "There's another piece of cheesecake left, Meredith, do you want the last piece?"
"Let's save it for tomorrow."
"Derek, Meredith, I think it's time for you to get going," said Carolyn. "I'll put Chrissy to bed tonight. You both have parties to go to."
"Should I change?" Meredith asked Cristina and Izzie.
"You're gorgeous as you are, Mer," volunteered Derek.
"I think you're good. We're just going to Joe's. Let's go. Your sister said she would meet us there at 8:30 p.m." Izzie, Cristina, and Meredith all got their purses and headed out after kissing Chrissy good night.
Alex turned to Derek. "We should get going, too. We told Dr. Sloan we'd meet him at the bar at the Archfield. And you don't need to change, either. I'll drive." George and Derek joined Alex in his car.
"So is the goal to get you drunk tonight?" asked Alex.
"I hope not. I don't want to be recovering from a hangover on my wedding day."
"What did you do for a bachelor party for your first wedding?" asked George.
"Mark and my brothers-in-law took me away for a week-end. He rented a small house on a lake in Vermont where we could go fishing every day in the morning, hiking in the afternoon, and drinking every night. It was a lot of fun." Derek smiled. "Mark was a great best man, at least until he slept with my wife."
"But that's what brought you to Seattle and Meredith," George pointed out.
"That's why we're friends again. I realized that it was all for the best."
"So he didn't have strippers at the bachelor party?" asked Alex.
"No. I didn't want strippers. I just wanted time hiking and fishing. I knew I wouldn't have much time for hiking and fishing after I was married."
"Addison wasn't big on hiking and fishing?"
"No, she hated the wilderness."
"But she lived in the trailer with you."
"She really wanted the marriage to work. But it was over," Derek sighed. "I only wish I'd chosen to stay here with Meredith."
"Well, you're getting married now, so let's focus on having fun on your last night as a bachelor."
"Being married can be a lot more fun than being a bachelor," commented Derek, thinking that his second marriage was going to start off on a pretty serious note.
As soon as they walked into the bar, Derek spotted Mark, who was seated at the bar looking at the door, waiting for them.
"I'm buying the first round," said Mark.
"Great. Let me introduce you to my friends, Dr. George O'Malley and Dr. Alex Karev. Guys, this is Mark Sloan. Richard said he'd stop by later."
By the time Richard Weber entered Joe's, Alex and George had each bought a round, so they were all feeling pretty happy. Mark and Derek were taking a break from drafts, Derek having won two of the three games.
"Good evening, Mark. It's great to see you here in Seattle," said Richard with a smile to his former intern.
"Glad to have such a happy event to celebrate."
"I hear that you are finally getting married and that your bride is Meredith's sister."
"Yes, that's right."
"Have you thought about moving to Seattle? We could use a plastic surgeon of your caliber at Seattle Grace."
"I haven't thought about moving. My fiancée is a resident, so she has quite a lot of training ahead of her."
"I'd be happy to offer her a job as well." Richard looked at Mark. "I've done some research. She graduated the University of Washington summa cum laude and then went to Harvard Medical. I'm sure she's talented. And she might want to be closer to her folks. Think about it. You could start July 1st, so you have plenty of time to make a decision."
"I'll discuss the offers with her," volunteered Mark.
Derek enjoyed overhearing the conversation. He would love to have Mark in Seattle. While he had written Mark out of his life after finding him in bed with Addison, he hadn't replaced him. Somehow, maybe thanks to the gendered nature of bachelor/bachelorette nights, Alex and George had joined him, but they were really more Meredith's friends than his. And Richard was his boss. Derek had not made any effort to make new friends, apart from Meredith, since the moment he discovered Mark and Addison in bed together.
"I hear that Chrissy is thrilled to be a flower girl," noted Mark.
"Yes, she is. But how did you learn that all the way in Boston?"
"Mike and Danny. They Skype with Chrissy every week, and this past week all she could talk about was being a flower girl."
"They're right. She is very excited about being a flower girl. She hasn't said a word about the bone marrow transplant and going back to the hospital. All she can talk about is the wedding."
"It is all she talks about at home," confirmed Alex.
"Sounds like the wedding is great for her," commented Richard.
"Yes, it is. But it's also wonderful for me and for Meredith. Sometimes I think I must be dreaming. It's hard to believe that it's really happening, that I'm getting married tomorrow to the love of my life."
"Well, I got you the perfect wedding present," announced Mark.
"Meredith and I said we didn't need presents, and we encouraged donations."
"Derek, Mrs. Manners would tell you that it's impolite to tell people what to get you for a present. And, as I said, I have the perfect present for you. It's going to be delivered on Monday."
"What is it?" asked George.
Mark smiled. "A robot."
"What would I do with a robot?" asked Derek, puzzled that Mark could be so excited about giving him a robot. "I know we watched Star Wars a zillion times and loved R2D2 and C3PO, but why would I need a robot?"
"It's not about Star Wars although I do have fond memories of watching Star Wars with you. It's for Chrissy. Lexie and I would like her to be a flower girl at our wedding, but I know that she's not going to be able to participate in person at our wedding because of the danger of infection. February will be too soon after the bone marrow transplant. But I read a newspaper article about these robots, the VGO Telepresence Robot that let kids with leukemia attend school by combining a video camera and a robot. So I thought it would be great for Chrissy. When she's in the hospital, she can use the robot to have dinner with Alex and George at home. She can also use it to go pre-school. And in February she can use it to be a flower girl at my wedding."
"That's amazing, Mark." Derek was very touched. He remembered the end of his first wedding when Mark said to him, "You'll never have a better friend than me." Maybe Mark was right. The robot was an incredibly generous and thoughtful present. And he and Meredith had been looking for ways to make Chrissy's hospital stay and subsequent confinement to home more bearable. And Chrissy would love to be a flower girl at another wedding.